Newman Virginia Roots

Aquilla Gilbert & Frankey Newman

Family

Aquilla Gilbert married Frankey Newman 17 May 1809 in Orange County, Virginia. Aquilla was previously married, his first wife’s name is unknown.

Aquilla Gilbert’s parents:

Frankey Newman’s parents: William Finnell & Ann Finnell

Children of Aquilla Gilbert & Frankey Newman

1. Mary Ann
2. Amos
3. Martha

I only knew two things about Frankey for a long time: 1) Frankey Newman became the bride of Aquilla Gilbert on May 17, 1809 in Orange County, Virginia. 2) Frankey had already died when her father William Newman wrote his will in April 1837. I could not find any other records for Frankey or her husband in Orange county, Virginia or nearby places like Culpeper and Madison. I found three Aquilla Gilbert’s that were in the War of 1812: Two in Virginia, and one in Maryland. There were Aquilla Gilberts in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Indiana, and Kentucky, all about the same age as Frankey.

I first learned the names of Frankey’s children from the chancery case about William Newman’s estate. His children’s residences were shown, to notate where the payments were going. Abner and Frankey died before their father William Newman, so each of their children are each listed as heirs, receiving their parent’s share of inheritance. This case said Frankey’s children were not residents of Virginia, except for a single reference in 1850 that Amos was a resident of Kentucky. Some of William Newman’s other children were living in Kentucky, but I couldn’t find Frankey or her husband or her children near any of them. I’ve spent the last two years reading through thousands of digitized tax record pages on FamilySearch.org. I feel confident that I now have Frankey’s family pieced together correctly.

The chancery case said that Frankey had three children:

Note: In the payments and accounts pages of the case they make a correction saying that Franky’s son is named Amos, not John, with several notarized papers stating his name is Amos.

This chancery case was very clear about who Frankey’s children were. Next, I wanted to figure out which Aquilla was her husband.

One Aquilla Gilbert who was in the War of 1812 filed a pension. He said that he was from Campbell County, Virginia. His pension states he was first married to Elizabeth Hewitt then Rachel Farmer. I found the Aquilla Gilbert married to Rachel on the 1850 Census in Breckinridge County, Kentucky. I also found them on the 1860 Census in Breckinridge County, Kentucky. The Census and the pension record indicated that this Aquilla could not be the one married to Frankey.

However, Frankey’s sister, Patsy Porter, also lived in Campbell County, Virginia. I found a second connection: Aquilla married Rachel the same place as Frankey’s youngest child, in Perry County, Indiana. I thought it was worthwhile to track this Aquilla married to Rachel which led me to Breckinridge, Kentucky.

An Aquilla Gilbert died in 1819 in Breckinridge County, Kentucky. His children were listed as:

1. Harriet who had a daughter named Virginia
2. Mordecai Gilbert
3. Aquilla Gilbert
4. Jacob Gilbert
5. William Gilbert
6. Polly Gilbert
7. Amos Gilbert
8. Patsy Gilbert

Estate

Enslaved Individuals

Land

Aquilla’s will was written 7 February 1819 and proved 21 June 1819. In it he states that Polly, Amos and Patsy were of tender years and were to be bound out to Mrs. Margaret Huston. They also had a guardian named Nathan D. Anderson, Esq. Polly is a nickname for Mary, and Patsy is a nickname for Martha. William Newman’s will in 1837 gives money to “the children of my daughter Frankey Gilbert.” The chancery case about William Newman’s estate specifies the children of Frankey as “Amos Gilbert, Bennett Ruph and Martha his wife, and Stephen Weedman and Mary Ann his wife.” Amos, Martha & Mary Ann matched these three children in Aquilla’s will. I realized that chancery case only referenced the children Frankey had, which are Aquilla’s three youngest children. This meant Frankey was the second marriage for Aquilla Gilbert.

Timeline

1809-The taxes were collected, or recorded, 16 May 1809, in Campbell County, Virginia. The next day, in Orange County, Virginia, Frankey Newman married Aquilla Gilbert. I think it was more than a day’s journey between the two places back then, which is why I think payment was recorded (not paid) in the tax books the day before. Aquilla had 3 males over the age of 16: Aquilla Sr, Mordecai and Aquilla Jr.

1810-The taxes were recorded 16 May 1810, in Campbell County, Virginia. Aquilla had 3 males over the age of 16: Aquilla Sr, Aquilla Jr, and now Jacob. Mordecai is listed separately.

1811-The taxes were recorded 21 March 1811, in Campbell County, Virginia. Aquilla had 3 males over the age of 16: Aquilla Sr, Aquilla Jr, and Jacob. Mordecai is listed separately.

1812-The taxes were recorded 3 May 1812, in Campbell County, Virginia. Aquilla had 3 males over the age of 16: Aquilla Sr, Aquilla Jr, and Jacob. Mordecai is listed separately.

1813-The taxes were recorded (March or April) in Campbell County, Virginia. Aquilla had 3 males over the age of 16: Aquilla Sr, Aquilla Jr, and Jacob. Mordecai is listed separately.

1814-The taxes were recorded 23 April 1814, in Campbell County, Virginia. Aquilla had 2 males over the age of 16: Aquilla Sr, and Jacob. Aquilla Jr is listed separately for the first time. Mordecai is not listed here, I assume he moved to Kentucky this year.

1815-The taxes were recorded 30 Mar 1815, in Campbell County, Virginia. Aquilla was listed as having only one male over the age of 16, himself. Mordecai, Aquilla Jr, and Jacob are each listed separately, taxes for themselves.

1816-The taxes were recorded 26 Apr 1816, in Campbell County, Virginia. Aquilla was listed as having only one male over the age of 16, himself. Mordecai, Aquilla Jr, and Jacob are each listed separately, taxes for themselves.

1817 and 1818 I didn’t see the Gilberts on tax records. There is not an 1818 tax book in Breckinridge County, Kentucky. But the minute book, for the court date 16 March 1818, shows he was in Breckinridge.

1819-Aquilla Jr is on the tax records 22 April 1819, in Campbell County, Virginia. he is taxed for himself being over the age of 16. I have not found this Aquilla on taxes for 1820-1823. He is in Breckinridge County, Kentucky in 1824 and lives the rest of his life in Breckenridge, Kentucky. (Except for when he was in the War of 1812).

1819 is the first year the Gilberts show up on tax lists in Breckinridge County, Kentucky. The taxes were recorded 22 Mar 1819. Aquilla is taxed for 150 acres. Aquilla Gilbert’s will was in probate at this time. His land was to be divided between his sons Mordecai and Jacob. The next year on taxes, 1820, Mordecai and Jacob each had 75 acres.

This is the court record that shows the children being apprenticed to Mrs. Huston, giving their exact birth dates! Interestingly, the children are apprenticed in March 1818, eleven months before he wrote his will. (February 1819). I assume this to mean that Frankey died, Aquilla was said to be old and infirm, so he was making sure his children were taken care of out on the frontier.